Coming from a strong marketing and strategic management background, Claire holds a Bachelor of Commerce and has had extensive experience across the government, corporate and small business sector.
Claire Prendergast is an Associate Consultant with Brighthouse Strategic Consulting, bringing more than two decades of experience across tourism, accommodation, strategic planning, marketing, stakeholder engagement and business development.
Based in Margaret River, Claire combines hands on operational experience with strategic advisory capability. She co developed, co owned and managed Wharncliffe Mill Bush Retreat in Margaret River, where she was responsible for strategic planning, master planning, development planning, marketing, budgeting, stakeholder liaison and the delivery of accommodation, camping and tourism products at scale. Earlier, Claire co managed the award winning Kooljaman at Cape Leveque, helping grow one of Western Australia’s most distinctive tourism and camping destinations while working closely with community, industry and government stakeholders.
Claire has also worked extensively in senior marketing and communications roles, including as Marketing and Communications Manager for Perth Airport and in earlier positions with Telstra in Australia and the United Kingdom. This gives her a strong commercial grounding in market positioning, communications, stakeholder relations and growth strategy.
Through her consultancy, Claire has worked with more than fifty tourism and small to medium business clients, with a strong focus on strategic planning, product development, accreditation, business planning, research, communications and business improvement. For the past 20 years, she has worked closely with Brighthouse as an Associate Consultant on strategic plans, master plans, grant funding submissions and feasibility studies for local government, State Government and privately owned tourism and accommodation projects.
Claire’s experience is particularly relevant to projects involving caravan parks, camping and low cost visitor accommodation, tourism development, worker accommodation, key worker housing, regional activation and community supported project delivery. She brings practical insight into how accommodation businesses operate on the ground, combined with the strategic capability needed to shape realistic, fundable and implementable solutions.
Her background also includes advisory and governance roles at a national and regional level, including service as a past Federal Small Business Advisory Committee member and as a Director of Australia’s North West Tourism Organisation. Her client and project experience has included Tourism Australia, Tourism Western Australia, Indigenous Business Australia, Tourism Council WA and a range of local government and private sector clients.
Claire is a valuable member of the Brighthouse team on projects that require strategic thinking, market insight, stakeholder engagement and practical accommodation and tourism solutions tailored to regional Western Australia.